The "Real" Key to Happiness

Happiness. What we long for, from the time we understand what it means to be happy and to be miserable. There is not a single person on the earth who wouldn't want to be happy, whatever that means for them. But I believe that no matter where you live, or your current situation, I have found the key to happiness. I know you are skeptical, and this is not an infomercial, where I will not give you the key until you read twenty pages of dialog. No, I am going to tell you right now. The key is found in two bible verses: Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them. Psalm 119:165 And, blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. Luke 7:23, (Jesus speaking) So here we are being told that blessed, or happy is the person who is not offended, in the verse in Luke, but not just not offended, not offended where? in Jesus. And in the old testament we are told that if we love the law of God we will have great peace, and NOTHING shall offend us. Why is so much importance put on offended. Well offended is the enemy to happiness. Think about it, you can be having the best day, got up, prayed, read your bible, got ready for work, singing a song in your heart, and your phone rings. You innocently answer it and its your brother telling you that you have messed up and that you are a loser. What happens next? Well for most, you get offended, and hurt and now your happiness is gone. You are brooding over how wrong you brother is about you and how he doesn't understand, and you spend the rest of the day meditating on what he said. Let's look at this word offended in both the New and Old Testament. To do this I am going to my second favorite book in the world, Strong's Concordance. In Psalm 119:165, the words "and nothing shall offend" come from the Hebrew word mikshowl, and it means: a stumbling or occasion of stumbling, stumbling block. In Luke 7:23, the word be offended is the Greek word skandalizo, and it means: to put a stumbling block or impediment in the way, upon which another may trip and fall, metaph. to offend, to entice to sin, since one who stumbles or whose foot gets entangled feels annoyed. So how can we keep from be tripped up, "stumbled", annoyed by this world and the people in it? IN JESUS! Luke tells us, happy is he, whosoever shall not be offended IN ME. In Jesus we find our identity. In Jesus, we no longer live, but he lives in us. In Jesus we are what he says about us and not what others say. This is so crucial to understand. You are not what your brother says about you, a loser. You are not what you parents say about you. You are not what your co-workers say about you. You are not what the world says about you. YOU ARE what Jesus says about you. Your value and worth are based upon him, why? because you are in Him. When you grasp this, and how much God loves you, it won't matter what the world, or people say or do to you, because that hole in you that only God can fill, will be filled and you will have peace, happiness, in every situation. Because it will be outside of you. No longer in you, that ability to offend. It will be gone. I will try to give a very poor example, because this is much more amazing. Let's say you have just won the lottery. (bad example i know) And your friend comes up to you and says, so no job yet. Man it must really be a bummer to have no money and no work. I wish you could find a job like mine. I make so much money and it just feels good to pay your own way. Now before you won the lottery, that would have offended you. (it would have offended anyone) It was very callus of your friend to bring out your difficult situation and then boast about his fortune. But now you just smile, and nod your head. You feel bad for your friend, because he has to go to work, while you get to buy your new boat, sports car, and house you've always wanted. But you are no longer offended by the words he spoke, because you have all you need now and his words have no power over you. You don't need to boast about what you have. You know it will make your friend feel bad, so you just keep silent. Do you see the beauty in that. IN JESUS, you have won the ultimate lottery. Everything you need, your identity, your value, your worth, your immediate provision, your peace, your future is in HIM. And if that's where you are, then happy are you! Now this is very important**** The only thing you need to believe about you from here on out, if you are in Jesus, meaning if you are born again, are the words Jesus says about you. What the bible says about you. And if you are not yet born again, saved, then now is the time! How valuable are you? How important are you? How loved are you? How worthy are you? For God so loved the world (YOU), that he gave his only begotten son. That whosoever shall believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. That is how valuable, worthy, loved you are. God sacrificed his son for you. Without you doing anything. Before you were even born. There are many more scriptures you can find that tell what God says about you, go search them out. Now you can see, how happy you can be. What other people say or don't say will not move you. This new freedom you have from being offended, will now allow you to love others as never before. Even your enemy. I pray Lord that you would give ears to hear, and understanding of this amazing truth to all who read it. Especially to those who are hurting so badly, feeling like they are worthless. Who are measuring themselves by what the world has told them. Open their eyes to see how beautiful they are to you. How valuable they are. They cost heaven everything it had, to buy them back from death and hell. Jesus!